Reinforced luggage box



Dec. 19, 1950 sERPlCO 2,534,684

REINFORCED LUGGAGE BOX Filed July 17, 1948 INVENTOR.

A T TORNE Y5 FRANK sERP/co Patented Dec. 19, 1950 UNITED STATES .PATENT OFFICE REINFORCED LUGGAGE BOX Frank Serpico, Ehiladelphia, ia.

Application July 17, 1948, Serial No. 39,217

Claims.

This invention relates to luggage boxes or frames formed by the upper and lower halves of a box and has for an object the provision of reinforcing corner strips which are supported at their ends by two sides of the box structure.

For many. years suitcase frames, generally consisting of a wooden box having a body portion and a cover portion, have been constructed of strong, lightweight wood with dovetailed or tongue-and-groove joints along the four vertical corners. The closure for the cover portion has been secured in place by gluing it to angle-reinforcements also adhesively secured to the side of the box. Such angle-reinforcements have been terminated inside the ends of the box and have been manually moved into alignment with the upper edge prior to application of gluin clamps. workmen have not always properly aligned the angle-reinforcement, and in the event of an imperfect bond, there has been a tendency for the angle-reinforcement to break loose causing a disproportionately large number of rejects, boxes which are not suitable for completion into a finished piece of luggage,

In carrying out the present invention in one form thereof, corresponding vertical sides of both the body portion and cover portion of the box are provided with 45 degree angle recesses into which angle-reinforcements may be guided into exact alignment. ing the angle-reinforcements in the exact position required has been greatly simplified, and even with unskilled labor the number of rejects due to faulty alignment has been greatly decreased. Additionally, by overlapping the ends of the angle-reinforcements with the ends of each box portion, great strength is added to the box as a whole since the ends of the reinforcement, being supported, carry a substantial part of the load, thus reducing the forces which may be applied to the angle strip and which might result in breakage of the adhesive bond. Surprisingly enough, the additional cost of milling or otherwise providing the comer notches or recesses is substantially or entirely ofiset by increased production due to the greater ease of alignment, and is certainly offset by the additional saving in re- J'ects.

For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference is to be had to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a luggage frame embodying the invention and in the form in which it is ready to receive a cover of fabric or of leather or of other material;

Accordingly, the task of plac- Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a fragmentary part of a corner of the lid or cover portion;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a corner section of parts of Fig. 2 in the assembled position; and

Fig. 4 is an end view of a corner of the box of Fig. 1 with that part of the corner which is sanded away shown in dotted lines.

Referring to the drawing, luggage of the better class including suitcases, overnight bags, and the like, comprises a box in having a cover portion or lid I l and a body portion l2. Each of portions II and 12 are made by assembling and bonding together the sides and ends, preferably provided with tongues and grooves which, when adhesively bonded together, form strong rectangular frames open at the tops and bottoms. These open rectangular frames are then closed. Heretofore, the bottom of the body portion l2 and the closure for the lid or cover portion II have been secured in place by first gluing anglereinforcements to the vertical sides of the box, the exposed faces of each pair of reinforcements being respectively flush with the upper and lower edges of the box. Each closure is then adhesively secured to the box and the faces of the anglereinforcements.

In carrying out the present invention in one form thereof, after the two sides l3 and id have been adhesivel secured together at the tongueand-groove joints, the end members l3 at the corners adjacent the side Walls [4 are milled away, each cut-out portion thereby providing degree recesses or notches 15 into which may be placed angle-reinforcements l6. As shown in Fig. 2, all the parts have been separated for easy identification thereof.

While it would be possible to precut each end member, such as the end member [3, at 45 degrees to provide the recesses at (5, the foregoing method is preferred where such recesses are milled with reference to the upper edges of the ends I3 and the sides M. This preferred method r assures greater accuracy in the resulting alignment of the angle-reinforcement It with the side l4. As best shown in Fig. 4, it will be seen that the angle-reinforcement IS, in end view, comprises an isosceles right triangle, which is the preferred form. In assembling the angle-reinforcement [8 to the side I4, it is only necessary adhesively to coat the face 16a, and if desired also to coat the angle edge i5 of each of the ends [3. The angle-reinforcement is then dropped into the recess and gluing clamps applied to hold it in place. As soon as the glue sets and the bond is completed, the closure may be adhesively secured to the aligned upper edges of the ends l3, the sides l4 and the added angle-reinforcements IS. A typical corner is illustrated in Fig. 4, the part in broken lines illustrating the appearance of the corner prior to the rounding of the longitudinal side.

After the closure has been bonded to the sides, the assembly as a whole is taken to a suitable sand wheel and the corners rounded as shown in full lines in Fig. 4. Not only are the longitudinal edges rounded, but also the side edges so that the outer surface of the box presents smoothly rounded corners throughout the periphery of the box. Frequently, the cover or lid is rounded to a greater degree than the body portion of the box.

After completion of the body portion it and the cover portion H, in the manner described above,

theyare frequently shipped as a box unit to dif- P ferent technicians who cover the wood frames or boxes with suitable material. The wood is soft enough so that the fabric or leather covering may be stitched directly to the box. The stitching frequently is. through both the sides and the anglereinforcements. In the past it has frequently occurred that the length of the angle-reinforcements has been somewhat less than the length of the sides of the box, thus leaving a small gap between the end of the box and the end of the I angle-reinforcement. Whenever this occurs, there arises the possibility that the stitching needle will enter adia'cent the end of the reinforcement and thus be deflected to one side, re.-

sulting in needle breakage. has occurred often enough to be a source of considerable difficulty and annoyance, because it not only increases the cost due to the needle breakage. but also greatly slows up operation and sometimes makes it difficult to complete the seam without showing the damage done as a result of the broken needle.

In accordance with the invention, the fact that each angle-reinforcement extends outwardly into overlapping re tensive in long with the sides of the box eliminotes entirely the po. ibility of needle breakage the angle- .nforcements may be too short. anally. the angle-reinforcements being rigidl ppo ted at the ends greatly increase the str .th of the box and prevent deflecw the closure member 28 wh results in ssive breakage of the adhesive bond. As a result of the present invention, the number of reiects has substantially and entirely disappeared and is no longer a factor in the cost of manufacture.

Aside from the foregoing advantages, the extension of the angle-reinforcements through the side walls has resulted, after rounding of the corners including the reinforcements, in a greatly enhanced appearance of the four corners of the box. Each corner, as best shown in Fig. 3, provides an appearance which is suggestive of the fact that the angle-reinforcement l6 forms an interlocking engagement with the end I3. This appearance results from the fact that the rounding process produces a double curvature at the corner of the end of the angle-reinforcement which because wider along its base appears to interlock the side and end walls and does, in fact, result in a better, stronger box.

While modifications of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that further t on with the sides and is coexiii 4 variations may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

i. For luggage, a box comprising sides, ends and a closure, right-angle reinforcing members coextensive in length with said sides and each adhesively secured to the inner surface of a side of the luggage box along one right-angle surface, the other right-angle surface of each member being coplanar with the closure-engaging edges of said ends to provide additional bonding surfaces for said closure, said ends having 45 degree angle cut-outs for receiving and guiding and supporting the ends of said angle reinforcing members, the corner-intersecting extremities of said sides and ends being secured together in tongue and groove relation, and means including an adhesive for bonding the inner surface of said closure to said angle reinforcing members and to the coplanar edges of said ends, said reinforcing members after rounding of the corners of said luggage box adjacent said closure presenting an unbroken surface and at the corners an appearance of interlocking relation between 1 each reinforcing member and each corner-intersecting side and end.

2. A luggage box comprising side walls rigidly secured together, a closure disposed in engagement with the side walls to close one end of saidbox, a pair of opposed walls having their corners adjacent said closure angularly cut away. an angle reinforcing member coextensive in length with the box between said cut-away cor ners for extension into said angle cut-outs for support of the respective ends thereof by said opposed walls, said angle member having angular faces respectively in supporting relation with said closure and with the adjacent wall which interconnects said opposed walls.

3. A luggage box comprising side walls rigidly secured together, a closure disposed in engagement with the side walls to close one end of said box, apair of opposed walls having their corners adjacent said closure angularly cut away,

. an angle reinforcing member in shape complementary to that of said angle cut-outs and coextensive in length with the box between said cut-away corners for extension into said angle cut-outs for support of the respective ends thereof by said opposed walls, said angle member being bonded at its ends to each of said opposed walls, along one side to the adjacent side wall which interconnects said opposed walls and presenting the other side thereof into bonding relation for application thereto of said closure member.

4. A luggage box comprising side walls rigidly secured together, a closure disposed in engagement with the side walls to close one end of said box, a pair of opposed walls having their corners adjacent said closure angularly cut away, said closure having its inner surface flat against the edges of said opposed walls, an angle reinforcing member in shape complementary to that of said angle cut-outs and coextensive in length with the box between said cut-away corners for extension into said angle cut-outs for support of the respective ends thereof by said opposed walls, said angle member having angular faces respectively in supporting relation with said closure and with the wall adjacent said closure which wall interconnects said opposed walls.

5. A luggage box comprising side walls rigidly secured together, the corner-intersecting extremities of said side walls being secured together 5 in tongue and groove relation, a closure disposed REFERENCES CITED in engagement with the side walls to close one end of said box, a pair of opposed walls having their corners adjacent said closure angularly cut The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

away, an angle reinforcing member coextensive 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS in length with the box between said cut-away Number Name Date corners for extension into said angle cut-outs for 131,258 Evarts Sept. 10, 1872 support of the respective ends thereof by said 500,912 Krammer July 4, 1893 opposed Walls, said angle member having angular 1,530,858 Meyercord May 31, 1927 faces respectively in supporting relation with said 10 closure and with the adjacent wall which interconnects said opposed walls and adhesively secured thereto.

FRANK SERPICO. 

